Curious how one of the deep gouge marks around the Louisville Slugger center brand happens to conveniently go exactly over the place where the underlined "125" would be on a NON game used Brett bat! Any thoughts?

BULBUS

06-23-2006, 03:21 PM

byergo,
to me, it doesnt look like a gouge, but the grain of the bat.

byergo

06-23-2006, 05:42 PM

Think you're right, it's just the natural grain of the wood.

JimCaravello

06-23-2006, 06:11 PM

I am just now seeing this thread and it appears that the auction has ended and the bat sold for $1,392. T85 is a valid model number for Brett during the 83-85 time period. There are also numerous Baseball Promotional orders of T85 during this time period as well as two - 500 total bat orders by the KC Royals in 1983, that had to be for promotional puprposes - that's right - 500 bats ordered by the KC Royals on 11/22/83 and 500 bats ordered on 12/21//83. Most of Brett's orders for T85 bats during this period were 34.5" in length with weights of 32 ounces. The bat in question has the nice pine tar separation that I discuss in one of my blogs from last year - Game Used Bat Collecting Tips. I don't like how the barrel looks sanded and I also don't like the actual use on the barrel - its not comensurate with the amount of pine tar on the handle. This is a bat I would like to inspect in person to measure - weigh - and review the actual game use on the barrel, before rendering a ture opinion. This must have been a one day auction? I don't remember seeing this bat listed................... but I could have missed it......

If you have any other questions, please contact me at jcaravello@nc.rr.com - Jim

BULBUS

06-23-2006, 07:36 PM

I agree with Jim, I wouldnt have bid.

It was a at least a 7 day auction. The first bid was on the 16th.

byergo

06-23-2006, 09:34 PM

Here is why the top of the barrel looks "sanded":
952

953

954

byergo

06-23-2006, 09:38 PM

Brett used donut weights while waiting in the on deck circle, and that caused friction marks in that exact spot of his bat. The top pic most clearly demonstrates how this alters the bats appearance.

JimCaravello

06-24-2006, 04:57 AM

Byergo - A donut bat weight would not have caused that large an area to be affected on the barrel. I have used those personally myelf and have seen numerous other major league bats ( with many in my collection ) that have donut bat weight marks and they look nothing like the barrel on that Brett Bat. As mentioned, this is a bat I would want to see in person before making any determination on it - but a donut bat weight did not create the appearance on that bat. Thanks, Jim - jcaravello@nc.rr.com

JimCaravello

06-24-2006, 05:36 AM

If anyone is interested in a nice Brett bat, www.greyflannel.com (http://www.greyflannel.com) has what I think is a killer 86-89 C271 Brett bat on their website. Take a look at the barrel and the shoe marks and ball marks - the bat has perfect pine tar separation on the handle and the use on the barrel is comensurate with the pine tar application - this is a killer piece. They are asking $2,500 for it - I would have bought that bat already if I did not have one in my collection.

Jim - jcaravello@nc.rr.com

JimCaravello

06-28-2006, 03:09 PM

Hi Folks - the seller of the George Brett bat on ebay contacted me and sent me some additional pics of the bat. After reviewing those pics, I think any interested parties should take a closer look. The light area we have all been seeing in the barrel photo appears to have been caused by ball marks and use. I have seen this on other gamers in the past. Also - I reviewed additional pics of the use on the barrel and there are some real nice ball and seam marks embedded in the barrel. Additional pics show much better use than original pics, which I felt did not match up with the amount of tar on the bat. Bat is supposedly 34.5" and weighs around 31 or 32 ounces which is perfect per Brett's records. Lastly, the seller obtained this bat and many others from a clubhouse source ( which he briefly mentioned in the Listing ) - this helps with provenance. The Seller admitted that his pictures were very poor.......

I would still love to see the bat in person - but for anyone who bid on the bat or who may not have bid on the bat - you should take a serious look at the piece if the Seller decides to resell, as the high bidder backed out after reading comments on the Forum. I like the bat much better after seeing the pics.....

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks! Jim - jcaravello@nc.rr.com

beni0016

07-08-2006, 09:03 AM

I think that the bat looks OK as well. I agree with Jim however, the key is to see the left handed hitters side of the barrel. Never the less, if it does match factory specs - the pine tar and knob markings look correct to me. For anyone who is interested in Brett bats, here is some additional info that I have on my website if you are interested in reading.
http://www.vintagebats.com/feature_page-George%20Brett.htm

Regards,
Andy
www.vintagebats.com (http://www.vintagebats.com)

Carlevv

10-28-2010, 05:28 PM

I am just now seeing this thread and it appears that the auction has ended and the bat sold for $1,392. T85 is a valid model number for Brett during the 83-85 time period. There are also numerous Baseball Promotional orders of T85 during this time period as well as two - 500 total bat orders by the KC Royals in 1983, that had to be for promotional puprposes - that's right - 500 bats ordered by the KC Royals on 11/22/83 and 500 bats ordered on 12/21//83. Most of Brett's orders for T85 bats during this period were 34.5" in length with weights of 32 ounces. The bat in question has the nice pine tar separation that I discuss in one of my blogs from last year - Game Used Bat Collecting Tips. I don't like how the barrel looks sanded and I also don't like the actual use on the barrel - its not comensurate with the amount of pine tar on the handle. This is a bat I would like to inspect in person to measure - weigh - and review the actual game use on the barrel, before rendering a ture opinion. This must have been a one day auction? I don't remember seeing this bat listed................... but I could have missed it......

If you have any other questions, please contact me at jcaravello@nc.rr.com - Jim

Great thread. Hey on those promotional bats, would they be the ones with the "large label"? Thanks

MSpecht

10-29-2010, 09:49 AM

Sticking with the two orders of promo bats cited by Jim, based on the order dates of 11/22/83 and 12/21/83, it is more probable that the center brand used at the very end of the 1983 transition year was the small label ( 3 7/8 inch ). More specific to the promo orders, they were ordered / shipped with a natural, or regular, finish. In contrast, all of the professional signature model T85 34 1/2 inch bats manufactured for Brett's personal professional use were unfinished (noted as "none" in the order records.

In case you have missed this info over the years, here is another informative blog on Brett use characteristics, courtesy of Andy Benish: